


Gym Class Hero

by Tsuki_Amano



Series: 365 Stucky Shots [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Superhero Bucky, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, regular steve, steve knows more than he lets on, superhero au, supportive Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-07
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-13 11:59:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4521114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsuki_Amano/pseuds/Tsuki_Amano
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve knows what Bucky's hiding. Bucky may be the city's hero, but Bucky needed saving too.<br/>And Steve was Bucky's own personal hero.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gym Class Hero

Steve’s ringing up his last order for the day, an unnecessarily complicated drink that he doesn’t even want to try and spell, when Pietro’s voice floats out from the back room.

“Hey Rogers, your boyfriend’s here!”

To his credit, he only flushes a little, counting out the exact change and handing it to the customer, before wishing her a good day. Pietro comes out and smirks at him, waggling his eyebrows, “Don’t get too frisky now, I don’t want to have clean up after you.”

Steve ignores Pietro’s good-natured teasing, heading into the Employees’ Only section of the coffee shop. Smiling, he falls into his boyfriend’s embrace before he steps back and frowns.

“Bucky, what happened to your face?”

“You sure know how to make a man feel good about himself punk.” Bucky drawls, reaching out to smooth the wrinkle that’s appeared between Steve’s eyebrows. But Steve bats his hand away, refusing to be distracted. Bucky’s lip is split and now that he looks closely, his knuckles are grazed, almost as though he’s been fighting.

“Buck…” he starts, worrying at his own lip. His boyfriend’s eyes soften, “Aw, Stevie don’t worry. I wasn’t paying attention and fell, that’s all. I didn’t want to tell you ‘cause I felt so stupid. It’s nothing to worry about so wipe that frown away.”

Shaking his head, Steve forces a smile back onto his face, “Well come on then you jerk. At least let me help clean those cuts before they get infected.”

Steve holds Bucky’s hand extra tight on their way home. Bucky seems distracted, getting lost in his own thoughts and sometimes completely losing track of their conversation. Steve doesn’t fail to notice the way Bucky’s hands tighten involuntarily when Steve asks about his day. But he pretends to believe Bucky’s wild stories and tales.

Because Steve knows what Bucky’s hiding.

New York had always had its share of villains, aliens, monsters and other public nuisances. For the most part, people had come to accept it as a part of life, until one day, about two years ago, when a team of masked vigilantes had shown up and started fighting back. They called themselves the Avengers and no one knew anything about them, except that they seemed to have super-human powers.

Steve had met them once. Well he’d met one of them at least.

It had been after a late shift at the coffee shop when he was heading home. In those days, he was all alone and he didn’t have anyone to come home to. From one of the alleys, he heard the sound of some thugs harassing a girl and he hadn’t stopped to think twice. He’d rushed in and punched the first guy in the jaw, creating enough chaos to allow the girl to escape.

Of course, even under normal circumstances, three against one is an unfair fight. Steve found himself faced with heavy-set, angry men and before he knew it, he was on his knees and he was fairly certain his nose was broken.

But before the leader could deliver the final blow, someone had stopped him. Steve remembers looking up at a masked man, wearing all black, with messy brown hair slamming the bullies into the wall like it was nothing. When the trio ran away, he had knelt by Steve’s side and with a surprisingly gentle touch, examined Steve’s wounds.

“Jesus punk, they sure did a number on you. You got anyone I can call?”

Steve laughs, before groaning because laughing hurts. The only person who would remotely be concerned is Peggy, his landlord but there’s no way he’s calling the elderly lady at this time of night. “Sorry, no. I’ll be fine though, don’t worry.”

The man steadies him as he almost tips over. “Sure thing, now I might believe you if you could walk unassisted in a straight line.”

Steve smiles, “What is this, a sobriety test?”

And he can’t see it, but he swears that the man’s lips quirk up in a half-smile under the mask. His saviour, whom Steve later learns is called the Winter Soldier, helps Steve to the hospital but by  the time Steve is bandaged up, he’s gone and all he can think about is the way those blue eyes had pierced into his very soul.

The next day, when Steve is working his shift (no one questions his appearance, he’s been beaten up far too many times for that), Bucky walks into the coffee shop for the first time. Steve pretends not to notice the fact Bucky’s blue eyes are so familiar when they crinkle at the corners when he smiles.

He wilfully ignores the tug in his stomach when Bucky calls him punk and he bites his tongue when Bucky’s lips quirk into an adorable half-smile.

Steve’s sure Pietro is an Avenger, there’s no way anyone can move as fast as he does. But Steve likes the company the man provides in their shop.

He keeps an eye on the news, making sure he knows what menace is plaguing New York. When Bucky is out fighting, he makes sure their first aid kit is stocked and refills the pain killer bottles. He pretends to believe Bucky’s stories that he fell or that he got mugged, helping him clean cuts and bandage wounds. Bucky always heals quickly and Steve always presses a kiss to each cut, as though he could protect him in some way.

Steve makes sure he hugs Bucky extra tight when he hears that someone’s died and he makes sure there’s always plenty of tea and cake. Some days, Bucky just sits quietly by the window and Steve lets him, only tugging him up to bathe and to eat. He washes his hair and covers Bucky’s ice-blue eyes. If Bucky allows him, he combs his hair and ties it back before they settle back on the window ledge, Steve crawling into Bucky’s lap letting himself be cuddled.

Because Bucky may be a hero for everyone in the city, but Bucky needed to be saved too.

And Steve was Bucky’s own personal hero.


End file.
